Peter Thiel

The virtual world is changing our perception of space and time. It is blurring geographical borders and challenging existing sociological, and political frameworks. Peter Thiel, co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, delivers an intellectual and philosophical perspective on the virtual economy. During the presentation Peter speaks on money, communities, freedom and governance in the virtual world.

The virtual economy is starting to supplant the real economy. In 2004 the the virtual economy was equivalent to the economy of Namibia and heading towards that of Jamaica. eBay, Amazon and PayPal are multi billion dollar companies creating tremendous value in the virtual economy. Peter asserts that to truly understand the real value of the virtual economy we need a new frame of reference.

The paradigm that the economy consists entirely of physical things is no longer true. The reality is that we are living in a world where more and more value exists in this virtual world.

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Peter Thiel is Clarium's
President and oversees the firm's research, investment, and trading strategies. Before starting
Clarium, Mr. Thiel served as Chairman and CEO of PayPal, Inc., an
Internet company he co-founded in December 1998 and that was acquired by eBay Inc. for $1.5 billion
in October 2002.

Prior to founding PayPal, Mr. Thiel ran Thiel Capital Management LLC, the Menlo Park-based
predecessor to Clarium, which started with $1 million under management in the fall of 1996. Mr. Thiel
began his financial career as a derivatives trader at CS Financial Products, after he practiced
securities law at Sullivan & Cromwell. In addition to managing Clarium, Mr. Thiel is active in a variety
of philanthropic and educational pursuits; he sits on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Research
Institute and on the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School.

Mr. Thiel received a B.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.